L OCA L L Y SO U R C ED
Boldly Speak Truth EMILY IVERSON
Conversations with those who don’t share our beliefs, you guys were here praying?” I took out by cell phone and whether it’s one-on-one, in a group, private or public is looked at the time, One hour and 1 minutes ago! ( crucial to changing the culture. Silence doesn’t work. As I told her the story of the couple who decided to exit My husband and I recently were part of two events that Planned Parenthood earlier that day and she started to helped facilitate conversations about abortion in different tear up. I then explained to her that we know three women ways. The first event called Life Chain took place on April who chose life for their babies since March 2 when the 9 in Wheaton. The Life Chain gathered around 1 0 people 4 0 Days for Life Spring vigil began. who displayed life-affirming messages to commuters on Roosevelt Road This event, hosted by St. Michael Catholic She wanted to know more about what 4 0 Days for Life stood for as an organization. I explained that the visible, Church in Wheaton, was a great encouragement as people came together to share this simple, but important biblical public centerpiece of 4 0 Days for Life is a focused, 4 0 truth printed on our signs: “Abortion takes a human life.” day, twelve-hour prayer vigil Monday through Saturday outside abortion facilities. Our peaceful presence se We received a lot of encouragement from cars passing by. However, some did not like our message, and they a powerful message to the community about the tragic reality let us know that, too. We gave them the peace sign and of abortion. continued to share our message. told her, There are 5 8 vigils throughout 6 0 different
The second event was called Speak Life 2 0 2 on April 2 3 countries just like the one here in Aurora. I pulled up the 4 0 Days for Life web page and showed her that there at the University of Chicago. Around 6 0 college students attended. Pro-Life Speaker Scott Klusendorf did a great have been 3 7 0 babies known to be saved at vigil sites part job of reminding the students to remain calm when way through this spring vigil—three of those babies were someone is antagonizing them, to ask questions, to saved right here. understand the concerns of the pro-choicers and address She quivered and said, “That gives me goose bumps!” them. If we know the foundational truths of the pro-life I explained that our goal is for clients to leave Planned position, we can refer to them in every conversation on Parenthood$ s darkness and death for Waterleaf this topic. Recent developments in the Supreme Court pregnancy resource center’s life, hope and help. She said make it more important than ever to understand and be she understood and then agreed that I could pray with able to articulate that every human life has value. her. I thanked God for her and her inquisitiveness, for the babies spared We pray that current and future conversations will be from death, and the couple that had earlier left Planned Parenthood for Waterleaf$ s help. fruitful. One way you can boldly and publicly indicate that you are pro-life is to pray outside of an abortion facility. Join the Sanctity of Human Life Task Force in prayer across Sarah Lindquist leads this prayer time outside the Planned from Planned Parenthood. We pray in partnership with Parenthood in Aurora. 4 0 Days for Life$ s year- round peaceful prayer vigil for the FROM A PRAYER VOLUNTEER AT THE 40 DAYS FOR LIFE PRAYER VIGIL SITE
vulnerable, abortion industry workers, and our culture.
A woman who lives in the apartments across from Planned Parenthood was walking to Mariano’s and talking on her cell phone, when she stopped and asked me, “Does this really work? Does praying on this hill really do any good?”
Park at Mariano’s or behind AutoZone and meet on Waterleaf pregnancy resource center$ s property acros from Planned Parenthood Aurora’s driveway.
Saturday, June 4, 1-2 p.m.
Sign up at www.college-church.org/impact/sohl to receive said an emphatic yes. And she replied, When was the SOHL monthly e- newsletter to receive events schedul last time someone pulled out of that parking lot because and life-related news.
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